After Judgment
by tact-and-impulse
Summary: Jinchuu is over, and everyone, in their own way, begins to move on. A collection of oneshots, from various perspectives.
1. 1: Insomnia

Kaoru cannot sleep. She should feel relieved, because she is finally home and safe in her own room, in her dojo. She should feel at peace, because that horror story is over, and for now, they can rest.

But instead, she lies beneath her blanket and stares into empty darkness. She can feel her pulse in her interlaced fingers, steady and loud and insistent. Before Enishi's Jinchuu, she liked the silence throughout the house. She thought it was calming. Now, it makes her feel on edge. That night when Enishi and his gang came for Kenshin's blood and smothering hands came for her too. All those nights spent awake on that island, wondering how she could escape and if anyone knew where she was.

This feeling now, it reminds her of the time between her father's death and Kenshin's arrival. It would be eerie and too, too quiet and so lonely that she'd be driven to tears.

 _I don't like it. Back then, I would just train until I collapsed._

She frowns and puffs her cheeks. She's been suspended from practicing Kamiya Kasshin, at least until her health is back to normal. She is too thin, Megumi had scolded before she left, and she should wait for a couple months to regain her weight.

A low, drawn-out sound, full of fear and distress, makes her sit up. _Kenshin!_

Kaoru hurries out of her room, into the dark hallway. She hesitates at his door for a second, before throwing the screen open and stumbling to his shadow. He's thrashing out, still asleep and trapped in a nightmare she can't invade.

She shakes him and loudly whispers. "Kenshin. Kenshin, wake up!"

He wakes automatically and in the moonlight, his violet eyes are wild and disoriented. It is as if he is seeing right through her, and her stomach twists.

Gradually, he focuses and exhales a rattling breath. "Sorry, Kaoru-dono. This one was dreaming. Please, go back to sleep and don't worry." The reply is distant and formal, and she shakes him again.

"No, I won't. Not when you look like that. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Please, Kaoru-dono."

"Then, I'll talk instead." She props herself up against the wall, so she isn't touching his futon. "I don't want to go to sleep, I can't. I haven't been home in so long, I've forgotten how."

The silence is still there, so she plunges deeper.

"I'm afraid that something will happen again, if I sleep. I checked all the locks twice before I came to bed. So, see? You're not the only one that's been affected. Don't shut yourself out from me, Kenshin. I can't bear it, if you do."

There's a rustle as he sits up. "This one dreamt that you were taken from him again. That you were dead and this one couldn't save you."

Her throat constricts. "Oh. But, it was a dream. I'm right here, Kenshin, you know that."

"It has been difficult lately, to know what's a dream and what's real."

She dares to move closer, sliding onto his mattress beside him. "Maybe, the problem is that neither of us is able to sleep alone. Let me stay here tonight, just so we can get some sleep."

He turns to her, lips parted and eyes wide and breathtaking as he stammers. "A-are you sure?"

"Mm. I did say that I wanted to be with you forever, didn't I? That includes night too." Maybe it's the darkness that makes her so bold, or the privacy, or the pulse in her fingertips that reminds her that she's alive and she should take every chance she has. "Come here." She holds out her arms and after a moment of tentativeness, he goes.

They only hold each other, knees touching and hands caught in unbound hair.

"This is nice." She remarks and sighs as she clings to him tighter.

"Kaoru-dono." His voice is raw, reverent. "Kaoru." And what she hears is: _I'm home._

"Kenshin." She murmurs back. _I'm home too._ And this is how they fall asleep, with warmth and solace between them.

In the morning, he's still sleeping in her grasp when she yawns and opens her eyes. She smiles.


	2. 2: Listen

"Kitsune."

Megumi snaps her head up at the word, looking for spiky hair and a smirk. But she quickly admonishes herself. She is in Aizu, and the rooster-head is far, far away, wherever he is.

She finishes bandaging a little boy's scraped hand and gives him a stern look. "Remember, don't use this hand. Or you'll end up like a certain idiot and lose all your brains when you try to fight with it."

* * *

"Baka!"

She startles, expecting a bright ribbon in a dark ponytail and a bokken flying at red hair. But she only sees an unfamiliar girl blushing at her companion. Still, the scene reminds her of another couple, two people who've deserved all the happiness they have.

They catch her looking at them; she flashes a friendly wink and tosses her hair. Then, she is back to stirring her medicines. After this, perhaps she'll send a letter to Tokyo.

* * *

"Imouto?"

Megumi freezes, her hand still in midair and holding a poster advertising her missing family. But it's only a group of children passing by and chattering away about someone's baby sister. There's been no sign at all of her mother or her older brothers, not even a hint in these past weeks.

Sometimes, she despairs and considers returning to the Kamiya dojo. At least, she wouldn't be alone there. Then, she thinks of her patients, of Kanryuu's piercing grin, of her friends who supported her. Of the euphoria when they were all reunited again after that terrible night and how it had been worth the endless days of heartache. So, she steels herself and continues with her work and her search.

She may be far from those she cares about, but she hears their words all the time. And for her, that's enough to keep her going.


	3. 3: Amends

It's growing chillier by the hour, but Misao is determined not to shiver. The biting wind may cut through her short sleeves and bare skin, but a ninja does not show weakness. She cups handfuls of cold earth, squinting for a round ceramic lid.

"Ah! Here!" She exclaims and digs up another jar. "Hannya, we're taking you home, okay?!" She hugs the container, ignoring the bits of dirt and grass root that have fallen on her front, and tries hard not to spill any tears.

"Misao." Aoshi's voice is the only prelude before a soft weight falls on her shoulders. His trench coat, much too large for her, smells fresh and pungent of the Western cologne he's taken a liking to.

"Thank you." She beams, hoping for him to return his smile. His handsome face is stoic and there are dark circles under his eyes. He needs to lighten up, which is why she's extra peppy. The corner of his mouth quivers, and she groans internally. So close! Well, the coat is already enough. It means he cares about her health, doesn't he? Little steps, Misao, she reminds herself.

"We should camp here for the evening." He wraps the three other jars of Beshimi, Hyotoko, and Shikijou in a hemp bag. She hands him Hannya's, and he adds it to the bag as well. "It is almost dusk."

"Eh?!" She hadn't realized, but he's right. "Then, I'll get water."

"I will go with you."

"It's fine, don't worry!"

He frowns and shakes his head. "No, I should accompany you. It would be safer that way."

"Ughhhh." But deep down, she's glad. After all, this is the first time he's sought out her company. She usually has to work for it. Little steps, Misao, one step closer. One step closer to helping him heal.

It will take a long time, but she's willing to face it.

* * *

Aoshi keeps an eye out for any sudden movements. Night has fallen, and they're sitting next to each other, feeding the little fire they have. "So, what'll we do, when we're back in Kyoto?" Misao asks.

"Try to help the government. They could make use of the Oniwabanshuu. And," He looks down at his kodachi, polished to shine but still so bloody. "I wish to atone for troubling Himura with my own shortcomings."

Misao blinks at that. "I think you already have, Aoshi-sama. Without you, we never would have realized that Kaoru was alive."

"Hmm." He doesn't fully believe her, yet her words echo in his mind and warm a space in his chest he long thought empty.

"How did you come up with that idea, anyway? I never would have guessed that that wasn't Kaoru!"

To be honest, it was a hunch. No, not even that. He was told the idea, from the ghosts of the people they were carrying with them. It wasn't quite a dream, since he was floating in that hazy area between sleep and consciousness. A hallucination, perhaps. But whatever it was, it kept nagging him.

 _Are you sure, Aoshi?_ Beshimi had mused.

 _She might not be dead, who knows?_ Hyotoko had snickered.

 _No one saw the killing blow._ Shikijou had muttered.

 _Maybe, they altered someone's body. It's far too easy._ Hannya had added.

He had been skeptical when he woke, but the idea was an incurable itch and the sorrow in the air was suffocating. So, he had gone ahead and pursued the line of thought, looking into all the information he could gather. And in the end, Himura's woman was alive. He couldn't fathom Enishi's ranting and raving about his sister's smile, but once he felt his comrades' ashes in his hands, he thought a faint sense of triumph had vibrated to his fingertips.

Misao is still looking at him, still waiting for an answer. "Logic, Misao." He says at last.

"Whaaaat? I don't believe you! That wasn't logic at all, I thought you were drinking bad sake when you made that suggestion! Tell me the truth!" She berates him and accuses him of keeping secrets, but he doesn't budge.

"Good night. We have a long journey ahead of us." It will be hard work, but he's willing to face it.


	4. 4: Detour

Sano didn't plan to take a detour, but after realizing the full implications of being wanted by the government, it became necessary.

It's midnight at the harbor, an unusually subdued hour because of all the police running about. Looking for him, of course, although he's made good distance from Tokyo. The warrant for his arrest has spread across the coastline. He's a little proud.

He adjusts the large hat he's wearing, a ragged old thing 'borrowed' from a fellow passenger. He keeps a fast pace in the shadows, steering clear of a rowdy group of staggering drunkards returning to their homes and a pair of patrolling officers. He walks carefully, and the silence is disconcerting.

The postal office is dark and empty, which is perfect. He fingers the envelope in his hand and considers how to enter the building.

 _Maybe, I can punch through the window…no, that'll just make too much noise and I'd get my hand broken again. No fox lady to fix it this time._

He wrote the letter on the ship, and the constant rocking made his handwriting nearly as bad as Kenshin's. He's said his goodbyes to Kenshin and Jou-chan and Yahiko, but there are three other important people who need to know about his departure.

He slides the envelope beneath the door, and with that, he hurries back the way he came. To the harbor, to the ship that'll carry him away from his birth country, to limitless freedom.

 _To Dad, Uki, and Ota:_

 _The government's out for my arrest since the incident with the Ishin-shishi. Those bastards. Figures, huh? But it'll be best if you all lay low too and maybe leave the village for a couple months until things die down._

 _You can settle down somewhere near Tokyo. Jou-chan's back, so she can teach Kamiya Kasshin directly. Just don't eat anything she cooks. You'd like her though, and my best friend Kenshin. Yahiko's a brat but a good kid. And I know they'd all welcome you with open arms._

 _So…it looks like I won't be seeing any of you for a while. By the time you read this, I'll be on my way to the mainland. I'll have a hell of a time there and I'll send another letter once I land. Wish me luck!_

 _Sagara Sanosuke (also known as Higashidani Sanosuke)_


	5. 5: Entrust

_The Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu Succession Techniques?_

 _Please! I ask you as if you were a man!_

Yahiko smiles grimly at the memory, and his hand reaches up to the spot on his scalp where his instructor had beaten him for that outburst.

He wipes his sweaty forehead. He's been training for hours; he may be the best child swordsman in Japan but he'll be damned if he ever lets the title slip away from him. He's still frustrated with his weakness, not as much as he was then, but it's more of a healthy pressure. A reminder that if he's too lax on himself, he might not be strong enough if something happens again.

"Yahiko, come on, take a break!" Kaoru admonishes him and quickly adjusts her collapsing ponytail. If she's tired, she doesn't show it. "If you don't, you're going to collapse and then what?"

"Ughhh, fine." A few months ago, he would have childishly defied her. But he knows better now, to recognize his own limits and listen to other people.

"Kaoru-dono, Yahiko-kun. Lunch is ready." And there's Kenshin in the doorway, speaking softly and wiping his callused hands with a clean rag. "Both of you have been working hard."

Yahiko tries not stagger as he exits the dojo and glances behind him. Kaoru and Kenshin are looking at each other, but not quite, in an awkward way. It's sickeningly sweet, to be honest, but Tsubame likes hearing updates about their new courtship. Yahiko rolls his eyes and turns his attention upwards. The characters above the entrance are bold and brave: _Kamiya Kasshin_.

This is what Kaoru has given him; this is what Kenshin has guided him towards. They've trusted him with this sword style, this symbol of peace in the new era. And even above his irritation and wariness, this is what he trains for. They're his family now, and he'll pay back their trust in him tenfold.

"Nah, I'm going to the Akabeko. It's way too gross around here." He complains and enjoys the sight over his shoulder: Kaoru blushing and scolding him for rudeness and Kenshin smiling like an idiot.

On his way out, he swings his shinai and starts to whistle.


	6. 6: Peace

Kenshin actually doesn't pay much attention to his own birthday. He's not one to make a big deal out of celebrating himself, and usually, Kaoru reminds him of the day's importance even if he has remembered.

But today, it's seemed to have slipped her mind as well. He can't exactly blame her for that, not when she's like this. Her pregnancy had been mostly uneventful but the summer temperatures have made her uncomfortable. Muscle spasms seize her every hour too, her body unused to constantly carrying this extra weight.

And yet, he can't help but admire his beautiful wife, walking around the yard to make up for her hiatus from teaching. She's taken to wearing her hakama at all hours of the day, and beneath the baggy cloth, she is round with his child.

Their child.

He ducks his head, and his reflection in the laundry tub has a giddy smile.

"What are you grinning at?" She gingerly sits down beside him, a playful note in her voice.

He pretends to be startled. "Oro?"

"Kenshin." She says, exasperated, and worms her way into his arms with a sigh.

"This one is just happy." He replies and starts to hum a snatch of lullaby, but he's not even halfway through the song when she gasps.

His first thought is: _the baby? Is the baby fine, is Kaoru fine?_

"It's your birthday, isn't it?! Kenshin, I'm so sorry, I keep losing track of the days and the heat's killing me! I'll make it up to you, okay? What do you want as a present? Money's not a problem, just tell me."

He nearly chokes in relief and counteracts the trivial excitement by smoothing his hands over her belly. He likes doing this, trying to convey that he's here too for this child.

This life, that he and Kaoru have made.

She turns her head so she can look him in the eyes, her mouth quirking in a frown and still almost unbearably lovely. He only touches her forehead with his, kisses her lips, and laughs. "It's alright. This one has everything he could ever want, Kaoru."


	7. 7: Trio

"Hiko-jii! I'm hungry!"

Hiko glares at his diminutive charge and internally curses. The baka deshi and the tanuki girl have given him their spawn to babysit, while they attend a wedding in Kyoto. The brat takes after his father, except his hair is a darker copper and his eyes are bright blue like his mother's. Himura Kenji is a manic ball of energy, equipped with a shrill voice and a constant desire to throw himself into danger.

He's forgotten how much he dislikes children.

 _Little brat, if you're so hungry, then go find your food in the forest._

But he bites his tongue, remembering the warnings of his stupid apprentice and his wife.

 _If you starve my child, I'll beat you into next week!_ That was punctuated with a threatening shake of the tanuki girl's fist.

 _Shishou, he's only four years old; take extremely good care of him._ That was accompanied by a flash of gold in his baka deshi's eyes.

Hiko groans. "Brat, I don't have enough food. Do you know what that means?"

Kenji stops his whining and shakes his head. "No."

He forces his next words out with vitriol. "It means we have to go into town."

"Hooray!"

"No, not 'hooray'. I hate crowds, and people, and purchasing things…" He grumbles but lifts the brat onto his shoulders and picks up a bag of coins.

* * *

"T'anks for the food!" Kenji chirps and wriggles in his seat. The chopsticks are awkward and too large in his puffy little hand.

"Yeah, thanks." Hiko mutters over his rice bowl and turns his own wooden utensils between his fingers. He eats quickly, too used to eating fast by himself. When he finishes, he notices Kenji has made a mess of himself. Grains of rice on his cheeks, sauce smeared around his mouth. Hiko grabs a cloth napkin and wipes him off.

"How cute." Somebody whispers. "Father and son." He ignores them. He's only doing this because it'll be harder to clean him later. Yeah. That's it.

At last, when their bowls are scraped clean, he calls for a cup of sake. The brat tugs at his sleeve. "Have to go. Toilet."

Hiko just nods and sips from his cup. It's semi-decent rice wine. "Go ahead then." At four years old, he can do his business by himself.

He shouldn't have anything to worry about.

* * *

Somehow, Kenji is lost in the street. He did find the toilet, but he can't get back to Hiko-jii.

What if he doesn't find Hiko-jii? Then, he won't go back to Tou-chan or Kaa-chan. Kenji grips the front of his shirt. No, he won't cry. Yahiko-nii told him that he has to be strong. He squints his eyes so he won't cry and keeps walking.

And he hits someone, so hard he falls down. "Ouch!" He yelps and scowls and looks up.

There's a man standing there. He's tall, with hair as white as snow and big round glasses. He doesn't say sorry or hello, but he just stares at Kenji.

And then he screams. It's scary and Kenji screams back.

"Who are you?" The man asks and shakes like it's cold even though it's summertime.

Kenji doesn't answer. Kaa-chan told him not to talk to strange people. So he runs away. He doesn't know where he's going, but he runs anyway. He looks back, and the man is running after him. But he doesn't look mean, he looks a little worried.

Suddenly, big arms wrap around Kenji and lift him up. It's Hiko-jii, and Hiko-jii is yelling at him. "You brat, how could you get lost?! Hey, you there with the glasses, what-" Hiko-jii stops yelling and stares at the man. "You. Aren't you…?"

"No one. Just passing by."

"He was making sure I was safe." Kenji whispers. That's why the man followed him, he realizes.

"Is that so?" Hiko-jii is grumpy. "Then, let me thank you. What's your name?"

But the man doesn't say anything, and he just looks away.

"Looks like he doesn't want to give his name. So, what should we call him?"

"Hmm." Kenji sizes up the man before grinning. "Baka megane!"

Hiko-jii roars with laughter. "You brat, I love it!"

The white-haired man doesn't look very happy, but it's okay. He'll get used to it.

* * *

Enishi briefly wonders how he ended up here, in a giant hermit's hut with said giant and the offspring of his former enemy for company. But he had been shocked to the core, seeing that red hair and those blue eyes. Uncomfortable memories are surfacing, and he grinds his teeth.

The giant is rummaging around his belongings, saying something about pottery, but he doesn't want a useless vase.

"Brat, go look in the storehouse. Baka megane, you go with him."

"That's not my name." He protests, but the brat drags him outside. His face is too much like his father's, his determined gaze like the one that challenged him on that island. Bile rises in his throat.

He opens the storehouse door and finds a hand-sized green dish. He snatches it off its dusty shelf and walks out. The brat tags along, like a second shadow.

"Thank you, baka megane."

Oh, fantastic. The brat's thanking him. What's there to be thankful for? All he did was panic and feel guilty and afraid that if he let the brat alone, there'd be Jinchuu for _him_.

"Why don't you talk to me?" The brat demands.

 _I almost killed your parents, which means that you wouldn't have existed._ Instead, he says. "None of your business, now get away from me."

"Noooo, plaaaay!"

And then the brat trips, falling on his face. Despite himself, Enishi winces. But the brat rights himself, scrunching his face up in a blatant effort to not cry. Stubborn as both parents.

"I'm fine!" The brat declares. It's clearly a lie. "So play with me!"

"I don't know how."

"Then, I'll show you!"

The rest of the afternoon is spent with the brat wielding a bamboo stick and running after him. It's an ironic parody of the events years ago. But he goes along with the game, until the brat yawns and collapses from exhaustion. The giant smirks at him as he takes the brat to bed, and Enishi doesn't quite know how to feel.

* * *

"Well, this was an enjoyable day." The giant says and wraps up the dish for him. Enishi takes it, grudgingly. "Though I never would have expected Yukishiro Enishi to be playing with my baka deshi's brat."

Enishi flinches. "You…"

"I'm his master. And I heard all about your little stint a few years back. So, what are you doing in Kyoto?" There's tension in the air, and the giant's ki is blazing.

"I…my father is in a hospital here. We reunited after…that, and he's been sick. He's not doing well."

"You afraid of death, baka megane?"

"What's it to you?" But his thoughts are already racing to a time even before that, of blood in snow.

"People die, and people are born." The giant gestures to the sleeping brat. "That's just how life works. But, you don't seem as crazy as I heard; you played around with him all day and didn't try to kill him so that's something. So whatever comes, you can handle it, baka megane."

Enishi doesn't say anything as the other man shakes a jug of sake.

The giant pours him a cup and offers it to him. "Here, a toast to your father's health. It's terrible quality; it was a mistake to buy it. Still, all one needs to enjoy sake is cherry blossoms in spring, stars in summer, the full moon in-"

"Yeah, whatever." He downs the sake in one go. The pleasant burn in his mouth is worth the giant's glare. "If you know who I am, then why did you invite me here?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe, I've gotten soft with the brat around. You did keep an eye on him when he was lost, so that saved my ass."

It didn't sound like he had grown soft at all. "And if I attacked him?"

"I would have used you as a demonstration for the finer points of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu." The giant says casually.

Enishi shudders and sets the cup down. "Then, it's a good thing I didn't."

"Damn right." He narrows his eyes. "Now, get out of here. Don't you have a sick father to tend to?"

"Don't tell me what to do." He says but thinks of his ailing father, alone in the hospital. He leaves silently and disappears into the night.

When he arrives at his father's side, the old man is still asleep. But he sits down beside him and holds his hand tightly.

* * *

Kenji wakes up suddenly. He's still with Hiko-jii, so that means Misao-san and Aoshi-san are still having their wedding. He pouts, but as soon as he does, Hiko-jii picks him up.

"Come on, I'm taking you back to your parents."

He's too sleepy to reply, so he just nods and buries his face in Hiko-jii's shoulder. When he wakes up again, Tou-chan and Kaa-chan are there. There's a lot of noise and bright light, but Tou-chan brings him into his arms. "Thank you, Shishou. Hello, Kenji."

"Tou-chan, Kaa-chan." He rubs his eyes. "Is the wedding done?"

"Yes, Kenji, it is." Kaa-chan answers.

"Good. Can I hug you?" He reaches for her, but she hesitates and touches her belly. Why is she doing that?

Tou-chan smiles at him. "In a few months, you'll have a little brother or sister to play with. Wouldn't that be fun, Kenji?"

Hiko-jii groans and says "Two brats?" Kaa-chan makes a face at him.

But if he'll have as much fun as he did today, with Hiko-jii and the baka megane, then maybe it's okay having a new baby. "Yes!"


End file.
